Lake Minnetonka Air Show Ready For Fourth Of July

MINNETONKA, Minn. (WCCO) — Last year was the first time in 45 years there was an air show inside the Twin Cities. This year, the Minnetonka Air Show is going to be bigger and better, and it’s free.

It’s a 4th of July spectacle of airplane acrobatics for crowds young and old. To preview this year’s Minnetonka Air Show, pilot Michael Wiskus offered to take reporter Natalie Nyhus up in his two-seater for a few dips, loops and rolls.

Both Natalie and Michael wore parachutes and headsets in the Pitts S2C plane. Before takeoff, Michael offered Natalie some sound advice on how to avoid motion sickness.

“Tighten your butt muscles, because that stops everything. What happens is, it prevents the blood from rushing from your head down to your legs,” said Michael. “It will keep it so you don’t get like woozy.”

Once suited up, belted and in the plane, it was wheels up.

“This is the first point that I have felt nervous,” said Natalie right before takeoff. “I wasn’t nervous until now.”

They soared across the Minnesota sky, moving the tiny plane in and out of tricks. They did loops, hung upside down, did an unexpected barrel roll, and a high-speed fly by that left our WCCO crew in smoke.

As an added bonus, Natalie made it through the flight without getting sick.

“The whole reason for this flight is not to see if we can get you sick, it’s to make sure you don’t get sick,” said Michael. “It’s to see something you’ve never seen before. A whole different angle of the world.”

The Lake Minnetonka Air Show takes place July 4th at 8:15 p.m. at Lake Minnetonka. WCCO reporter Kate Raddatz will also sing the National Anthem at the event. Fireworks are at dusk.